Jacks propping up downtown library removed as construction gets back on track

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Mistakes made during construction at the downtown library in Baton Rouge have cost the taxpayers, and for months, jacks have helped make sure things didn’t get worse. Now, those jacks are no longer holding up the building.

That means construction is finally back on track after a year-long delay.

An extra $2.7 million has been spent on top of the original $19 million price tag, but city officials say they plan on getting that extra money back through lawsuits.

It was in April of 2018 when support beams failed at the library, triggering concerns that the uniquely shaped building could collapse. There were visible cracks in the beams. Crews brought in the four jacks to prop up the library while the architect, contractor, and city battled it out in court to figure out who’s responsible for the mess. That question still hasn’t been answered, but in April of 2019, the library’s board got sick of waiting. They fronted the extra $2.7 million to get construction rolling again. Now, it’s back on track and the estimated completion date is October of 2019.

Even though the jacks have been lowered, they’ll still be at the construction site for some time as crews make sure everything is exactly as it needs to be before removing them completely.

Parents of students attending Advantage Charter Academy are fuming Friday night after being told their kids will be held back and will need to attend a 16-day summer school program in order to advance to the next grade.